THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Haiti: “Ten U.S. missionaries in Haiti were charged Thursday with child kidnapping and criminal association for allegedly trying to take children illegally out of the earthquake-hit country.”
* A severely unpleasant day on Wall Street: “All three major indexes lost at least 2.6 percent on a day when two of Wall Street’s biggest fears re-emerged — a deteriorating jobs market and the debt woes facing foreign governments — feeding anxiety about the health of the global recovery.” Of particular interest was financial instability in Greece, Portugal, and Spain.
* Securities fraud: “New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced that his office is filing civil charges against former Bank of America Corp. chief executive Ken Lewis, former chief financial officer Joe Price and the Charlotte bank.”
* Raising the debt ceiling with no GOP votes.
* Gen. McChrystal sees “significant progress” in Afghanistan.
* White House seeks an apology from Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.).
* The House easily approved a bill today to improve the nation’s cybersecurity systems. It passed 424-0.
* White House lawyers are quietly working in anticipation of a Supreme Court vacancy — or two.
* Sen. Paul Kirk (D-Mass.) bid farewell to the Senate today, and devoted some time to honoring Ted Kennedy. As a demonstration of courtesy, a grand total of zero Republicans showed up for his departure speech. Stay classy, GOP.
* Coming through for unions: “The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would heavily favor government contractors that implement policies designed by organized labor.”
* The next time Republicans wonder why African-American voters back Democrats, they should remember this NAACP scorecard.
* Classless: “Don Imus asked Chris Wallace on his Fox Business show whether Fox News contributor Sarah Palin would be sitting on Wallace’s lap during an interview on Fox News Sunday this weekend. Wallace responded: ‘One can only hope.’”
* Rahm Emanuel still feeling the heat over his use of the word “retarded.”
* Rush Limbaugh, however, is using the same word in the same way, generating criticism from Sarah Palin’s spokesperson.
* Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) has a very short memory when it comes to his own Senate record.
* I know the media establishment refuses to believe it, but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to national security. He doesn’t even keep up on the basics of current events.
* And finally, President Obama went off-script briefly this morning at a prayer breakfast, talking about civility in the discourse. “Surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith,” the president said, pausing for a few seconds before adding, “or, for that matter, my citizenship.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
